I have been really discouraged the last few days to hear multiple parents lamenting the Common Core, and how awful it is for kids. They are feeling that education is damaging their children. How can this be? We, as educators, have never set out to damage children. We are on the same side as parents, aren't we? We are all working towards the goal of preparing children to be successful and productive members of society. We may have different focuses in that preparation, but somehow we need to work together. It is the only way we can truly succeed.
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I understand that education has been totally overwhelmed in the last few years with all different requirements, from Common Core standards to 21st Century Skills to high stakes testing, to an increased focus on College and Career Readiness, not to mention APPR. It sometimes feels as though we teachers are like a kitten with all sorts or multicolored strings, batting them around, and eventually getting all tangled up. Because of this tangle of seemingly unrelated strands we are frustrated, exhausted, and often unable to clearly communicate our objectives to either parents or students.
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I would love to see us instead embrace each one of those strands as an opportunity, see where they can be tied together, and like a magician pulling a rainbow ribbon out of his hat, present a unified education plan for our students that is exciting and attractive to both students and parents. Even though we might feel it's foolish, let's look for the opportunity in the Common Core standards, 21st Century Skills, and all the rest, to encourage critical thinking skills, real life application, and more capable and confident students.
And yes, I think this is possible.
Call me an eternal optimist, but I believe we became educators for just such a challenge as this.
